

N^?i 



WASHINGTON A FREE MASON. 



AN 



ADDRESS 

Delivered Before St. John's Lodge, No. 12, and vSolomon's 
Lodge, No. 20, 

^mmi Jfrtf Jlasoits 

of the 

STATE OF FLORIDA, 

At St. Augustine, Florida, on Thursday, November 4Tn, 

A. L., 5852, being the Centennial Celebration of 

the Initiation of George Washington. 

BY THOMAS DOUGLAS. 

Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge, and Past Grand High Priest 
of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of the State of Florida. 




PRISTED AT THE SEKTINEL OFFICE. 



1863. 



u 



s<§> 



L 



J 



WASHINGTON A FREE MASON. 
^/ ^_ .^^.^..-„.^_ -„.,„- ^^ , ^ -^ 

AN 

ADDRESS 

Delivered Before St. John's Lodge, No. 12, and Solomon's 
Lodge, No. 20, 



OF THE 



STATE OF FLORIDA, 

At St. Augustine, Florida, on Thursday, November 4th, 

A. L., 5852, BEING THE Centennial Celebration of 

THE Initiation of George Washington. 



BY THOMAS DOUGLAS, 

Past Grand Master of tte Grand Lodge, and Past Grand High Priest 
of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of the State of Florida. 



Published by REauEST of St. John's Lodge, 
No. 12 AND Solomon's Lodge, No. 20. 



PRmiED AT THE SENTOEL OFFICE. 
1853. 



r^ 



J%3 




TO THE 

M Itelri^M §xm)i f flJrp 0f \\t State 0f |l0rik, 

THIS TRIBUTE 

TO THE MASONIC CHARACTER OF THE GREATEST AND 
BEST OF MEN, AND ONE OF THE MOST ZEALOUS 

AND CONSTANT OF FREE MASONS, 
IS VERY RESPECTFDLLY AND FRATERNALLY DEDICATED 

IBT "IPIHIIS iill'IFIEOIEo 






(^^%^ 



ADDRESS. 



My Dear Brethren and Friexds : — We have met this day 
in accordance with a resolution of the Grand Lodge of 
Florida, which was passed unanimously at its last annual 
communication, and with its preamble reads as follows : 

Whereas, several of the Grand Lodges in the United States have directed the 
)ective jurisdictions to celebrate, on the 4ih day of No- 
teunial anniversary of the Initiation of our most worthy 
other, General George Washington, into the mysteries 
VHEREAS we may never have a second Washington, and if 
«t, auouiu, ue may not be a Mason : Therefore, for the purpose of testifying 
our affection for so much departed worth, and keeping his name and his vir- 
tues in perpetual remembrance as an incentive to the emulation and imitation 
of them : 

Resolved, That the several Lodges under the jurisdiction of this Grand 
Lodge be, and they are hereby, directed, in some suitable and appropriate man- 
ner, to celebrate that centennial anniversary on that day. 

A resolution which I doubt not is in unison with the feel- 
ings of all who hear me ; for those who are not of our order 
have with us a common interest in the fame and the virtues 
of this great and good man, and are, I trust, equally dis- 
posed to cherish and profit by them. To love the charac- 
ter and cherish the memory and the virtues of such a man 
as Washington with reverent affection, is part of the com- 
mon inheritance of all Americans ; but it is the peculiar 
privilege of Free and Accepted Masons to point to the lofty 
and well-pi'oportioned statue of his greatness and his good- 
ness, as testimony neither to be discredited nor disregarded, 
of the pure and excellent principles of our venerated Order. 

In preparing to exhibit to you evidence of the connection 
of Washington with this venerable institution — the services 
he rendered it, and his unwavering attachment to its prin- 
ciples, my difficulty has not been the lack of materials, in- 
teresting and important, (for they are fortunately abund- 
ant and authentic,) but in the selection and due arrange- 
ment of them, which has not been unattended by perplexity. 
If, therefore, I should be somewhat desultory, I must beg 



/ 



ADDRESS. 



that you will excuse me, and should I seem to be tedious» 
you will please to bear in mind that this celebration takes 
place but once in a hundred years ; that long before it will 
occur again, the present generation will have passed away 
to the place appointed for all living ; that the proofs now 
collected and adduced are intended for the benefit of those 
who shall succeed us on this stage of action, and, moreover? 
t hat to enable us to exhibit the many virtues which render 
Washington so dear to us, as a Free Mason, we frequently 
are obliged to travel out of the masonic record into that 
broad field of evidence which is wholly inexhaustible, but 
where the proofs lie scattered about in wild profusion, and 
much mixed up with other matters. 

I fear that I may not be able to interest and entertain, as 
I could wish, that portion of my audience who are not of the 
"mystic tie ;" however, whether I maybe fortunate enough 
to do so, or not, I am exceedingly glad to see so many here, 
and especially that so many of the fairest and the best have 
honored us by their presence. 

My masonic brethren, I take it for granted, will be inte- 
rested in any thing that may tend to show the connection 
of Washington with our Order and his attachment to its 
principles, although it should not be put in the best form or 
be said in the most happy manner. 

The preamble to the resolution just read, calls to our at- 
tention two most important events in our Masonic History : 
The initiation of Washington — which we have assembled to 
celebrate — and his Death. The first is one of which every 
Free Mason may well be proud — the last should awaken in 
our minds the most serious and solemn considerations. It has 
been justly said by a Reverend and worthy Brother, to be 
"characteristic of a well regulated mind, to find in the va- 
rious dispensations of Providence, reasons and motives for 
increased v/atchfulness and activity in the paths of Virtue 
and Holiness." Blind indeed must be that eye which fails 
to see, and fearfully hardened must be that heart which does 
not feel in every event tending to alienate our hopes and af- 



ADDRESS. 



fections from the ruffling vanities of time and sense, and the 
stimulating distinctions of the world — the warning voice of 
that tremendous Being, whose we are, a,nd Avhom we are 
bound to serve. 

To guard against the operation of that almost universal 
delusion which induces us to think all man-kind mortal but 
ourselves — to extend our view beyond the clouds and shad- 
ows of time into the awful, boundless and enduring regions 
of Eternity — constantly to remember that "here we have no 
continuing city," and habitually and prayerfully to seek one 
to come — to regard our preseiit perishing abode but as a 
temporary lodge in the wilderness, only a probationary rest- 
ing place on our road to the Heavenly Canaan, is alike our 
bounden duty and our highest privilege ; and hence it is 
most important that we determine to gather wisdom and 
instruction from those occurrences which practically dem- 
onstrate the utter insignificance and worthlessness of mere 
human honors and distinctions. "Verily every man at his 
best estate is altogether vanit}'. He cometh up like a flower 
and is cut down ; he fleeth as a shadow and continueth 
not ;" for "we a-11 do fade as a leaf," — are the monitory de- 
clarations of that blessed volume whose solemn warnings? 
when rightly read and inwardly digested, are truly and em- 
phatically light and life. Considerations such as these 
should dwell in every mind and regulate every practice. — 
They ought to fan into a flame of ardent and animating 
hope, that strong desire and anxious longing after immor- 
talit}^ which should warm our affections, enliven our devo- 
tions, and induce us more fervently to supplicate the Great 
Architect of the Universe to administer unto us an abund- 
ant entrance into the mansions of eternal glory when our 
work in time shall be ended. And what events more than 
those v/e are now called upon to commemorate should in- 
spire our hearts with these feelings — these holy and devout 
aspirations ! One hundred years have rolled down the tide 
of time to the ocean of eternity, since He, whose name we 
revere as 



ADDRESS. 



" One of the few — the immortal names, 

That were not born to die ;" 

whose virtues we admire and whose memory we hold sa- 
cred, was initiated into our venerable Order. And where 
now are those who aided in the performance of that inte- 
resting ceremony 1 Gone — all gone to that 

" ITndiscovered country, 

From whose bourne no traveller returns," 

and the place that once knew them will know them no more 
forever. 

Washington, whom it has been truly and eloquently 
said, was " first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts 
of his countrymen " — the Hero, the Patriot, the Statesman, 
the Freemason, the pious Christian — he of whom Napo- 
leon at an early period of his eventful career, so truly and 
emphatically prophesied. It was just as he was about to 
embark for Egypt ; some young Americans happening at 
Toulon, and anxious to see the mighty Corsican, had ob- 
tained the honor of an introduction to him. So soon as 
the customary salutations v/ere passed, he earnestly en- 
quired, " And how fares your countryman, the great Wash- 
ington ?" " He was well General," (said the gentlemen, 
brightening at the thought that they were the countrymen 
of Washington,) " he was very well General, when we left 
America."' "Ah, gentlemen," (he rejoined) " Washington 
can never be otherwise than well — the measure of his fame 
is full — posterity will talk of him as the founder of a great 
empire, when my name shall be lost in the vortex of revo- 
lutions." 

And where is Washington ? His " dust has returned to 
the earth as it was, and his spirit has returned to God who 
gave it ;" there we trust to dwell forever in perennial glory. 
And I am indebted to an address delivered by Brother B. 
B. French, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the District 
of Columbia, on the 24th of June last, by his to7nb at Mount 
Vernon, for some of the items of his masonic biography 
which, amongst many others, I have here embodied. 



ADDRESS. 



Washington, he truly says, was a Free Mason, not of a 
day or a month or a year, but of his whole adult life. On 
the 4th day of November, A. D. 1752, (a short time before 
he had reached the age of twenty-one years,) he was initiated 
an entered apprentice. On the third day of March, A. D. 
1753, nine days after he had attained his majority, he passed 
the degree of a fellow craft, and on the fourth day of the 
succeeding month of August, he was raised to the sublime 
degree of a master mason in Fredericksburgh Lodge, in 
Virginia ; as is clearly shown by its records, which still 
exist and are open to the inspection of all who desire to 
examine them. 

The age at which a man might be admitted a Mason has 
been different in different countries. The ancient constitu- 
tions require that he should be of ^'mature and discreet age/^ 
and the usage in the United States has been to require that 
he should be of the age at which, by law, a man is author- 
ized to act for himself, viz : the age of twenty-one years. — • 
Yet in France a Lewis (Louveteau,or son of a Mason) may 
be initiated at the age of eighteen years, and so he may be 
in England and New York, by dispensation. The ancient 
constitutions, published in A. D., 1723, fixed the age at 
twenty-five years. The explanation in regard to George 
Washington, (as given by Bro. French,) is that, at the time 
of his application to Fredericksburgh Lodge, he was sup- 
posed to be more than twenty-one years of age — that the 
question was not asked him, and that he was not aware 
that the regulations required that he should be twenty-one ; 
and this view of the matter seems to be sustained by the 
fact that he did not take the second degree until some days 
after he had attained his majority, and by the further facts 
that, at the age of sixteen years, he was engaged in survey- 
ing upon the frontiers of Virginia, as appears by a letter to 
a young friend of his, in which he said : 

" And now, at the age of sixteen years, in quest of an honest maintainancc, 
encountering intolerable toil, cheered onward by being able to write tea school- 
boy friend, dear Richard, a doubloon is my constant gain every day, and some 
times six pistoles." 



A D D R E 



At that early age, himself his own cook, with no spit but 
a forked stick, no plate but a large chip, roaming over the 
spurs of the AUeghanies and along the banks of the She- 
nandoah, was this mere stripling surveyor, upon Avhom God 
had placed the rights and destinies of countless millions of 
men, toiling for himself, for his own "honest maintainance" 
— an example that should put to the blush the conduct of 
some of our modern loould-he gentlemen, who deem it a dis- 
grace for a white man thus to labor. 

On the 20th of July, 1746, O. S., George Washington, 
Gent., as appears by the records of Culpepper County, pro- 
duced a commission from the President and Master of Wil- 
liam and Mary College appointing him Surveyor of that 
County, which was read and thereupon he took the oaths, 
&c. At the age of nineteen years he was appointed Adju- 
tant General with the rank of Major in the Virginia Mili- 
tia, and at the age of twenty-one he became the executor 
of the large estates of his deceased brother, Lawrence 
Waohington. It is no matter of surprise, therefore, that it 
should not have occurred to any one to enquire his age 
when he made his application to Fredericksburgh Lodge ; 
and the actual maturitij of it could not be doubted. 

The masonic character of Washington is the property 
of the venerable Order to which we belong, and precious to 
us it is, my brethren ; and of so much value was it deemed 
by the enemies of Free Masonry, that an attempt has been 
made to rob us of it. But a few years since an effort was 
made to prove that he was not a Mason, or that, if he had 
ever joined our ancient Order, he renounced it. Having 
most signally failed in this, the next effort was to deny that 
he ever attended masonic lodges or took any interest in the 
labors of the craft ; and in a letter to me (says our worthy 
brother, B. B. French,) from an anti-mason of the City 
of Boston, in 1848, the opinion is fulh'" expressed that Wash- 
ington was never master of a lodge, and that he did not 
lay the corner stone of the Capitol of the United States, as 
a Free Mason — a fact always asserted and believed by us. 



ADDRESS. 



These unworthy and illiberal efforts of the enemies of our 
institution, render it proper and necessary for ns to collect 
together, and garner up the various items of evidence (and 
they are numerous and well attested) which conduce to 
prove, not only that he was a Free Mason, but that he was 
most strongly attached to the craft, an active working mem- 
ber of the institution, and that he most highly valued the 
principles which Free Masonry inculcates. And in pursu- 
ance of this object, Brother French has, since the receipt 
of the letter just mentioned, addressed one to the venerable 
George Washington Park Custis, from whom he received a 
prompt reply, in which he says : 

'' There is not a shadow of doubt but Washington officiated as Grand Master 
of Masons of the United States in laying the corner stone of the Capitol in 1793. 
He certainly wore the veritable apron now in possession of Alexandria Washing- 
ton Lodge No. 22, and such other insignia as was suitable to his exalted rank as 
a mason. The apron, &c., was given to Lodge No. 22, by the executors of 
Washixgto.v, of whom (he said) I am sole survivor." 

The same allusion to Washington as Grand Master, was 
made by Doctor Dick, in an eloquent address before Alex- 
andria Lodge, on St. John's Day following the decease of 
Washington. 

It may be objected that there was no such office as Grand 
Master of Masons of the United States. But would not the 
brethren when assembled to lay the foundation of the Cap- 
itol of a nation, which Washington had been made the in- 
strument in the hand of Providence to create, and of which 
he was then, by the unanimous suflrages of his fellow citi- 
zens, the Chief Magistrate, have selected him "per excel- 
lence,^'' to act as their Grand Master upon that important 
and interesting occasion ? Moreover, in the year 1780, a 
Grand Lodge of emergency was convened in Pennsylvania, 
to consider the propriety of appointing a General Grand 
Master of the United States, and George Washington was 
unanimously chosen by that Grand Lodge to that high and 
responsible office. 

Indeed, a general impression seems to have prevailed 
that he had been Grand Master, or he was so styled by way 
2 



10 ADDRESS. 



of eminence. In the Masonic Register, published at Boston 
in the year 1802, is a "Masonic Dirge," which was composed 
by our Rev. Brother, T. M. Harris, Bast Grand Chaplain 
of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and set to music by 
Brother O. Holden, at the request of the Grand Lodge, as 
performed at Boston, February 22d, A. D. 1800, at the cel- 
ebration of the funeral obsequies of Brother George Wash- 
ington, in which the following lines occur : 

'' A Mason, brothers — a Grand Master dies ! 
The Cassia sprig designates where he lies." 

Therefore, it is not extraordinary that Dr. Dick and Mr. 
Custis should have spoken of him as such. The latter gen- 
tleman, in his letter to Bro. French, advised him to apply 
to the venerable Daniel Carroll for further information, 
which he did : Mr. Carroll replied that he was present and 
saw Washington lay the corner stone ; that he was sur- 
rounded by Masons, but he could not recollect whether he 
wore any regalia or not. But one of the oldest Free Ma- 
sons in the City of Washington, who was living on the last 
anniversary of St. John the Baptist, was present and well 
remembers that our Brother Washington was clothed in 
masonic regalia upon that occasion. These witnesses prove 
beyond the shadow of a doubt that Washington did actual- 
ly lay the corner stone of the Capitol, and that he laid it as 
a Free Mason, with the members of the craft around him, 
and clothed in all the insignia of the Order usually worn 
on such occasions. 

The proof that he was the first Master of Alexandria 
Lodge is equally conclusive. The charter was granted by 
Edmund Randolph, Governor of Virginia, and Grand Mas- 
ter of the Grand Lodge of that State, on the 28th day of 
April, 1788, and is directed 

" To our illustrious and well-beloved brother, George Washington, Esquire, 
late General and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces of the United States of 
America, and our worthy brethren, Robert M'Crea, William Hunter and John 
Allison, together with such other brethren as may be admitted to associate with 
them ; to be a just, true and regular Lodge of Free Masons, by the name, title 
and designation of Alexandria Lodge, No. 22 " 



ADDRESS. 11 

(The name of this Lodge was changed in 1805, in honor of the 
memory of our departed Brother, to "Washington Alexandria 
Lodge.") This charter, dated at Richmond, under the seal 
of the Grand Lodge and the bold and striking signature of 
Edmund Randolph, attested by William Waddell as Grand 
Secretary, is now in possession of Washington Alexandria 
Lodge, in almost as perfect a state as when it came from 
the hands of Governor Randolph ; and although Washing- 
ton is not named in the charter, as master of the Lodge, 
every Mason knows full well that, by universal Masonic 
custom and usage, the first person named in every Masonic 
charter or dispensation for a lodge is the Master. I will 
venture to say that no instance can be found where this 
usage has been departed from, unless, for some reason or 
other, the Brother thus named declined to act or could not 
serve as master. The records of this Lodge prior to April, 
1797, have been lost or destroyed ; but the record of Dec. 
16th, 1799, contains the following entry, viz : 

"Lodge of emergency: Funeral Lodge called for the burial of General 
WASHiNGTONj^rs^ Master of this Lodge, No. 22." 

Brother Scott, Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of 
Virginia, in an able and eloquent address, at the laying of 
the corner stone of the Washington Monument at Rich- 
mond, on the 22d of February, 1850, said of Washington : 

" Frequently, when surrounded by a brilliant staff, he would leave the gay 
assemblage and seek the instruction of the Lodge. There lived (he said) in 
1832, in our sister State of Ohio, one Captain Hugh Malloy, then ninety-three 
years old, who was initiated as a Free Mason in the marquee of W.\sniNGT0N, 
he officiating and presiding at the ceremony." 

And for this we have the additional evidence of the Grand 
Lecturer of the Grand Lodge of Ohio, who says that^Cap- 
tain Malloy resided near Bethel, in Clermont county. In- 
deed a Lodge was often opened in the tent of Washington, 
he presiding as Master and conferring the degrees of Ma- 
sonry upon his subaltern officers. At the laying of the 
corner stone of the "Bunker Hill Monument," there was 
present a' drummer of Washington's army, who had been 



12 'address. 



initiated and made a Brother in the marquee of the Com- 
mander-in-chief. Here is evidence, as conclusive as human 
testimony can make it, that Washington was Master of a 
Lodge, and that he frequently officiated as such. 

Now, as to his attachment to the Craft and the principles 
of the institution, is it probable, I ask, that a man of the 
intelligence and astuteness of Governor Randolph would 
have put the name of Washington first in the charter of a 
Lodge, knowing that the usage in such cases made him the 
first master, had he not also have known that there was no 
danger of the institution's suffering any detriment there- 
from ? as it must, of course, have done, had he declined to 
serve as master from want of attachment to the principles 
of the Order. 

Subsequently to the battle of Monmouth, and while the 
American army v^^as stationed in New Jersey, General 
Washington was called to Philadelphia to consult with a 
committee of Congi-ess, and remained until the close of 17- 
79. The city had suffered much from the chances of war> 
having been some time in possession of the British troops. 
The consequence was, much suffering and distress among 
the poor, especially when winter set in. To aid in reliev- 
ing the distress of the unfortunate, the Grand Lodge of 
Pennsylvania proposed to have a charity sermon preached 
before that body on the 28th of December, (the 27th being 
Sunday) by the Rev. Brother Wm. Smith, D. D., then Pro- 
vost of the College in Philadelphia. Near four hundred 
pounds were collected on the occasion for the poor; the 
sermon was preached in Christ Church, to which the ma- 
sons went in procession. Washington walked as a mason, 
and the programme shews that he had a distinct place as- 
signed him as such, and the minister in his remarks alluded 
to his presence in the following beautiful manner. He had 
been referring to the patriotism of distinguished men of 
other lands in other times, and said : 

'' Such, to name no more, was tlie character of Cincinnatus, in ancient times, 
" rising awful from the plough," to save liis country, and his country saved, re- 



ADDRESS. 13 



turning to the plough again, with increased dignity and lustre. Such too, if we 
divine right, will future ages pronounce to be the character of * * * * but you 
will anticipate me in a name which delicacy forbids me to mention. Honored 
with his presence as a brother, you will seek to derive ^virtue from his example; 
and never let it be said, that any principle you possess, can render you deaf to 
the calls of your country ; but on thc'contrary, have animated you with intrepLl" 
ity in the hour of danger, and humanity in the moments of triumph." " 

Daring the latter part of the American'revolution, a mer- 
cantile house was established at the instance of Doctor Ben- 
jamin Franklin, (who was a Free Mason and master_of the 
first Lodge ever held in Pennsylvania,) in the city of Nantz, 
by Elkanah Watson, who associated himself with a French- 
man by the name of Cassoul. The object of the house was, 
to receive the consignment of all the American vessels, 
that escaped the English cruisers, and dispose of the car- 
goes of tobacco, &c., and return French fabrics of cotton, 
silk, &c., but more particularly to furnish supplies of arms 
and ammunition, for the continental service. At that time 
Washington was known as a distinguished member of the 
masonic fraternity in Virginia. Messrs. Watson & Cas- 
soul, (the firm before mentioned) caused a magnificent set 
of masonic ornaments to be embroidered by the nuns of an 
adjacent convent, who excelled in their execution of gold 
and silver tissue, and sent the same with a letter of thanks 
to Washington for his glorious efiorts in the cause of inde- 
pendence, and noble sacrifice of his own preferment, to the 
welfare of his country. The followang is his reply : 

" Gentlemen — The masonic ornaments which accompanied your broth3rly 
address of the 23d of January last, thongh elegant in themselves, were rendered 
more valuable by the flattering sentiments and affectionate manner in which they 
were presented. If my endeavors to ariest the evil with which the country was 
threatened by a deliberate plan of tyranny, should be crowned with the success 
that is wished, the praise is due to the Grand Architect of the Universe, who 
did not see fit to suffer his; superstructure and justice, to be subjected to the am- 
bition of the Princes of this world, or the rod of oppression in the hands of any 
person upon earth. For your affectionate vows, permit me to be grateful, and 
oflfer mine for true brethren in all parts of the woi'ld, and to assure you of the 
Bincerity with which I am yours, GEO. WASHINGTON. 

Messrs. Watson & Cassoul, 

East of Nantz." 



14 ADDRESS. 



On the occasion of laying the corner stone of the Wash- 
ington Monument at Richmond, Robert G. Scott, Esquire, 
(Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia,) the 
orator of the day, unfolded a garment of the finest texture 
which the wind carried out upon its bosom as if it had been 
gossamer. " This," said the orator, " is the blanket in which 
General Washington \vas wrapped up on his being baptized 
into the Church of Christ ;" " and here," said the speaker, 
holding up the insignia which were in his hands, " here too, 
is the masonic scarf and apron made by Madame de Lafay- 
ette, and presented by General Lafayette to his masonic 
brother General Washington, and worn by him when officia- 
ting as master of a Lodge in Alexandria." 

Would General Washington, (could he with propriety) 
have received such testimonials of respect and regard of 
himself as a mason, if he had not held the order in very 
high estimation 1 Certainly not ; and he was too pure, too 
candid a man to practice so gross an impropriety. The two 
following letters were copied from the originals now in pos- 
session of the Lodge at Alexandria, in Virginia ; they are 
given entire, and explain themselves : 

" Mount Vernon, 28th December, 1793. 
" Gentlemen — With a pleasing sensibility I received your favor of the 26th 
and beg to offer you my sincere thanks for the favorable sentiments with which 
it abounds. 

" I shall always feel pleasure when it may be in my power to render any ser- 
vice to Lodge No. 39, and in every act of brotherly kindness to members of it, 
being with great truth, your affectionate brother, and ob't serv't, 

GEO. WxiSHINGTON." 

''Mount Vernon, June 19th, 1784. 
Dear Sir : — With pleasure I received the invitation of the Master and mem- 
bers of Lodge jSTo. 39, to dine with them on the approaching anniversary of St. 
John the Baptist. If nothing unforeseen at present interferes, I will have the 
honor of doing it. For the polite and flattering terms in which you have ex- 
pressed their wishes, you will please accept my thanks. 

With esteem and regard, I am your most ob't serv't, 

GEO. WASHINGTON. 
Wm. Herbert, Esq." 

The following is from General Washington's answer to 



ADDRESS. 



15 



an address from King David's Lodge, Newport, Rhode Is- 
land, dated August 17th, 1790: 

" Being persuaded that a just appreciation of the principles on which the ma- 
sonic fraternity is founded, must be promotive of private virtue, and pubhc pros- 
perity, I shall be always liappy to promote the interests of the society, and be 
considered by them as a deserving brother. 

" My best wishes, gentlemen, are offered for your individual happiness. 

GEO. WASHINGTON." 

In answer to an address from the Grand Lodge of South 
Carolina, dated May 2d, 1791, he wrote as follows, viz : 

'' Gentlemen : — I am much obliged by the respect which you are so good as 
to declare for my public and private character. I recognise with pleasure my 
relation to the brethren of your society, and accept with gratitude your congrat- 
ulations on my arrival in South Carolina. 

'' Your sentiments on the establishment and exercise of our equal government, 
are worthy of an association whose principles lead to purity of morals, and are 
beneficial of action. The fabric of our freedom is placed on the enduring basis 
of public virtue, and will, I fondly hope, long continue to protect the prosper- 
ity of the architects who raised it. I shall be happy on every occasion, to evince 
my regard for the fraternity. For your prosperity, individually, I offer my best 
wishes. GEO. WASHINGTON." 

The following is his answer to an address from the Grand 
Lodge of Massachusetts, dated December 27th, 1792 : 

" Gentlemen : — Flattering as it may be to the human mind, and truly hon- 
orable as it is to receive from our fellow citizens testimonials of approbation for 
exertions to promote the public welfare, it is not less pleasing to know, that the 
milder virtues of the heart, are highly respected by a society whose liberal prin- 
ciples are founded on the immutable laws'of truth and justice. 

" To enlarge the sphere of social happiness is worthy the benevolent design of 
the masonic institution, and it is most fervently to be wished that the conduct of 
every member of the fraternity, as well as those publications that discover the 
principles which actuate them, may tend to convince mankind that the grand 
object of masonry is to promote the happiness of the human race. 'While I beg 
your acceptance of my thanks for the " Book of Constitutions" which you have 
sent me, and for the honor you have done me in the dedication, permit me to 
assure you that I feel all those emotions of gratitude which your affectionate ad- 
dress and cordial wishes are calculated to inspire. And I sincerely pray that the 
great Architect of the Universe may bless you, and receive you hereafter into 
his immortal Temple. " GEO. WASHINGTON." 

Preston, in his excellent work entitled " Illustrations of 
Masonry,'' has inserted this latter correspondence, and re- 
marks : 



16 ADDRESS. 



" PVom tliis time we perceive that the society of Free Masons in America con- 
tinued to flourish under the auspices of General Washington, who continued his 
patronage of the Lodges till his deatli." 

In March, 1797, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts pre- 
sented an address to General Washington upon his retire- 
ment from public life, in which (amongst other things) they 
said : 

" Though as citizens they lose you in the actual labors of political life, they 
hope as ?naso7is to find you in the pleasing sphere of fraternal engagements." 

The following is an extract from his reply : 

" In the retirement which declining years induces me to seek, and which re- 
pose to a mind long employed in public concerns rendered necessary, rny best 
wishes that bounteous Providence will continue to bless and preserve our country 
in peace, and in the prosperity it has enjoyed, will be warm and sincere, and my 
attachment to the society of wJiich you are members will dispose me always to 
contribute my best endeavors to^promote the honor and interest of the craft. 
For the prayer you offer in my behalf, I entreat you to accept the thanks of a 
grateful heart, with assurances of fraternal regard,°and my best wish.es for the 
honor, happiness and prosperity of all the members of the Grand Lodge of Mas- 
sachusetts. GEO. WASHINGTON." 

The following is in answer to an address from the Grand 
Lodge of Pennsylvania : 

" Gentlemen and brethren : — I received your kind congratulations with the 
purest sensations of fraternal affection ; and from a heart deeply impressed with 
your generous wishes for my present and future happiness, I beg you to accept 
my thanks. At the same time I request you will be assured of my best wishes 
and earnest prayers for your happiness while you remain in this terrestrial man- 
sion, and that we may hereafter meet as brethren in the Eternal Temple of the 
Supreme Architect. GEO. WASHINGTON." 

The original of this last letter, and also the apron worn 
by General Washington on the occasion of his appearing 
in the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania as a visitor, are fra- 
med and hang in the Grand Lodge Room at Philadelphia, 
where they are preserved with the greatest care and vene- 
ration, as most precious memorials of their much beloved 
and most worthy departed brother. 

The following is an extract from a letter of Gen. Wash- 
ington, in reply to one from the Grand Lodge of Maryland, 
on his acceptance of the command of the armies of the 
United States during the difficulties with France in the year 
1798: 



'' To the Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free Masons of the State of Ma- 
ryland — Gentlemen and Brothers : Tour obliging and affectionate letter, together 
with a copy of the constitutions of Masonry, has been put into my hands by your 
Grand Master, for which I pray you to accept my thanks. So far as I am ac- 
quainted with the principles and doctrines of Free Masonry, I conceive them to 
be founded in benevolence, and to be exercised only for the good of mankind; I 
cannot, therefore, upon this ground, withdraw my approbation of it." 

On the 22d of April, 1797, at a meeting of Lodge No. 22, 
of Ancient York Masons, at Alexandria, at which General 
Washington visited, the following address was presented 
from the Chair : 

" Most respected brother : — The Ancient York Masons of Lodge No. 22, 
unanimously offer you their warmest congratulations on your retirement from 
your useful labors. Under the Supreme Architect of the Universe, you have 
been the Master Workman in creating the Temple of Liberty in the West, on 
the broad basis of equal rights. In your wise administration of the government 
of the United States for the space of eight years, you have kept within the com- 
pass of our happy Constitution, and acted upon the square with foreign nations, 
and therebj' preserved your country in peace, and promoted the prosperitj' and 
happiness of your fellow citizens. And now that you have retired from the la- 
bors of public life, to the refreshment of domestic tranquility, they ardently pray 
that you may long enjoy all the happiness which the Terrestrial Lodge can af- 
ford, and finally be removed to a Celestial Lodge, where love, peace, and har- 
mony forever reign, and where Cheruhim and Seraphim shall hail you brother 

By the unanimous desire of Lodge No. 22. JAMES GILES, Master. 

General G. Washington. 

To which Gen. Washington replied : 

" Brothers of the Ancient York Masons of Lodge No. 22 : — While my heart 
acknowledges with brotherly love your affectionate congratulations on my retire- 
ment from the arduous toils of past years, my gratitude is no less excited by your 
kind wishes for my future happiness. 

" It has pleased the Supreme Architect of the Universe to make me an hum- 
ble instrument to promote the welfare and happiness of my fellow men. My ex- 
ertions have been abundantly recompensed by the kind partiality with which they 
have been received ; and the assui-ances you give me of your belief that I have 
acted upon the square in my public capacity, will be among my principal enjoy- 
ments in this Terrestrial Lodge. GEO. WASHINGTON." 

The toast of brother Washington upon that occasion was: 
*' The Lodge of Alexandria, and all Masons throughout the 
world." 

The death of General Washington called forth the fol- 
lowing most feeding and affecting address from the Grand 



Lodge of Massachusetts to Mrs. Washington, which was 
presented by three of its Most Worthy Past Grand Masters, 
who were selected by the Grand Lodge for that purpose, 
doubtless as an especial mark of respect : 

Boston, July 11th, 1800. 

Madam: — The Grand Lodge oftho Coinnionwealth of Massachusetts, have 
deeply pa7'tieipated iii tlie general grief of their Fcllow-eitizens on the melancliol- 
ly occasion of the death of their beloved Washington. As Americans, they have 
lamented the loss of tlic Chief, who had led their armies to victory and their country 
to glory ; but as Masons, they have wept the dissolution of that endearing rela- 
tion, by which they were enabled to call him their Friend and Brother. 

They presume not to offer those consolations which might alleviate the weight of 
common sorrows, for they are themselves inconsolable. 

The object of this address is not to interrupt the sacred offices of grief like 
yours ; but whilst they are mingling tears with each other on the common ca- 
lamity, to condole with you on the ii-reparable misfortune which you have individ- 
ually experienced . To their expressions of sympathy on this solemn dispensation, 
the Grand Lodge have subjoined an order that a golden urn be prepared, as a 
deposite for a lock of hair, " an invaluable relirjue" of the Hero and the Pat- 
riot, whom their wishes would immortalize ; and that it be preserved with the 
jewels and regalia of the society. Should this favor be granted, Madam, it will 
be cherished as the most precious jewel in the cabinet of the Lodge, as the 
memory of his virtues will forever be, in the hearts of its members. We have 
the honor to be, with the highest respect, your most obedient servants, 

JOHN WARREN, 
PAUL REVERE, 
JOSLVH BARTLETT. 

Mrs. Martha Washington. 

To which Tobias Lear, Esq., for Mrs. Washington, re- 
plied as follows: 

Mount Vernon, January 27, 1800. 
Gentlemen : — Mrs. Washington has received with sensibility, your letter of 
tho 11th instant, enclosing a note of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, reques- 
ting a lock of her deceased husband's hair, to be preserved in a golden urn 
with the jewels and regalia of the Grand Lodge. In complying with this request, 
by sending the lock of hair, which you will find enclosed, Mrs. Washington begs 
me to assure you, that she views with gratitude the tribute of respect and aWea- 
tion paid to the memory of her dear deceased husband, and receives with a feel- 
ing heart the expressions of sympathy contained in your letter. With respect 
and esteem I have the honor to be, gentlemen, your most obedient servant, 

TOBLVS LEAR. 
John Warren, Paul Revere, Josiaii Bartlett, 

Past Grand Masters. 

Upon the occasion of a late visit of a distinguished bro- 



ADDRESS. 



19 



ther to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, the Grand Mas- 
ter delivered an acldress in which he said, (pointing to this 
golden urn) : 

" When I turn my eyes to tliis golden casket, which has been entrusted to my 
keeping, as Grand Master of this Grand Lodge, I am reminded of liim, who 
though " first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen," 
and whom Americans delight to call the Father of his country, yet wore that 
emblem of innocence and badge of a mason, more ancient, as well as more hon- 
orable than the Ro:nan Eagle, who, when the American army was encamped in 
a neighboring town, at the commencement of the revolutionary struggle, sat as a 
private member of a Lodge, with an orderly sergeant for his master, and that 
too, when he was as much the Dictator of his country as Ca;sar was of Rome." 

Here we have another proof of the strong attachment of 
this "worthy brother to the principles of our order, and also 
an affecting evidence of the attachment with which our 
brethren of Massachusetts, now, after the lapse of half a 
century, cling to this precious relique. 

The Hon. Thomas Bigelow delivered a eulogy on the 
character of Washington before this Grand Lodge, on the 
11th of February, 1800, and at that period, so near the date 
of his death, when authentic information could easily be 
obtained, and when it is hardly possible that an erroneous 
statement of so important a character could have been 
made, Brother Bigelow, upon the authority of information 
derived from members of Washington Alexandria Lodge, 
asserts that he died the Master of it. His language is : 

" The information received from our brethren who had the happiness to bo 
members of tlie Lodge orer ?«/(/cA Ae p'"^*"^"'^ many years, and of which he 
died the Master, furnishes us abundant proof of his persevering zeal for the 
prosperity of the institution. Constant and punctual in liis attendance, scrupulous 
in his observance of the regulations of the Lodge, and Sijlicitous at all times to 
communicate light and instruction, lie discharged the duties of the chair with 
uncommon dignity and intelligence in all the mysteries of tlie art." 

The square, the emblem of his office, is still worn b}' the 
Master of that Lodge ; it is made of silver, and is larger 
and heavier than similar jewels made at the present dnj. 

Proofs might be multiplied ; but let these suffice. If they 
are not sufficient to satisfy even the most skeptical, that 
Washington was not only a Mason, but that he was (for a 



20 ADDRESS. 



time at least) Master of a Lodge, and frequently officiated 
as such, was a lover of the craft, and devotedly attached to 
the principles of our order, " neither would they be persua- 
ded although one should rise from the dead." 

"These testimonials," says Brother Mackey, (to whose wri- 
tings I am much indebted for evidence of Washington's Ma- 
sonic character,) "these testimonials of the masonic life and 
opinions of the Father of his country, are of inestimable 
value to the institution." "They demonstrate, (to use the 
language of Brother Moore) beyond controversy, his attach- 
ment to the institution — the high estimation in which he 
held its principles — his conviction of its ability to "promote 
private virtue and public prosperity," — and they place be- 
yond all doubt, his disposition always to contribute his best 
endeavors to promote the honor and interest of the craft; a 
disposition which he continued to manifest, and on all proper 
occasions to avow, to the latest period of his life." 

Considerable importance seems to have been attached to 
language, (said to have been) used by Washington in a let- 
ter to one G. W. Snyder, who had written to him, expres- 
sing fears that the mischievous tenets of the lUuminati, 
then established in Europe, might find their way into the 
Masonic Lodges of the United States, and had sent him a 
book entitled " Proofs of a conspiracy," &c. In his reply 
dated September 25th, 1798, Washington, after stating 
that sickness and a multiplicity of matters which pressed 
upon him, had prevented the" acknowledgement of the re- 
ceipt of his letter, is said to have written as follows : 

" And which allows me to add little more now than thanks for your kind 
wishes and favorable sentiments, except to correct an eiTor you have run into, of 
my presiding over the English Lodges in this country. The fact is, I preside 
over none, nor have I been in one more than once or twice within the last thirty 
years. I believe, notwithstanding, that none of the Lodges in this country are 
contaminated with the principles attributed to the Society of the Illuminati." 

In a letter to the same gentleman of the 24th of October, 
Washington reiterated the belief that the Lodges of Free 
Masons had not endeavored to propagate the " diabolical 
tenets" of the Illuminati." The remark imputed to Wash- 



ADDRESS. 21 

iNGTON that he had not been in a Lodge more than once or 
twice within thirty years, has been seized upon by our en- 
emies, to prove that he had relinquished aJl interest in Free 
Masonry : but admitting that he made the remark as s'a- 
ted, there would seem to be no difficulty about the matter. 
The error of Mr. Snyder consisted in supposing that Wash- 
ington presided over certain jj]nij:lish Lodges in this country. 
To disabuse his mind in regard to that matter, Washington 
may have said, " I preside over none,'" — none what ? " No 
EnglisJi Lodge — and have not been in one more than once 
or twice within the last thirty years ;" one what ? Why, 
an English Lodge. This is the fair import of the terms said 
to have been used, and thus restricted they were (if used) 
doubtless true, for ail English Lodges had virtually ceased 
to exist in the United States near thirty years before. If 
written, they must mean that, or they were used in that 
general sense, which is very common, to indicate a few times, 
not often, &c. — as a moment is frequently used to signify a 
short (but indefinite) space of time. — as God hides himself 
from, or is angry with, and afflicts his people but for a mo- 
ment. — " the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment," and 
is quickly changed into eternal sorrow — " a lying tongue 
is but for a moment," as truth will quickly be discovered to 
the liar's shame. Otherwise, they would be inconsistent 
with the array of testimony which 1 have adduced, and to 
which much more might be added; and I am content to leave 
to the enemies of our order, if they will still persist in their 
foolish and absurd charge, all the honor they may acquire 
by attempting to prove that our beloved and revered 
Brother, was guilty of inconsistency and deceit. 

A claim was put forth in the London Free Mason's Quar- 
terly Review in the year 1834, that Washington was initia- 
ted in the Military Lodge, No. 227, attached to the 46th 
Regiment of the British Army, and has lately been reitera- 
ted by our English brethren, who assert that the Bible on 
which he was obligated is now in possession of that Regi- 
ment. There are some things, my brethren, which we can- 



22 ADDRESS. 



not spare ; and the honor of having initiated the " Father 
of his country" into our order is one of them. We would 
not rob our British brethren of one iota of any honor to 
which they may be justly entitled in regard to him. We 
duly appreciate the " reverence in which they hold the char- 
acter, and the fondness with which they treasure up the 
living memorials of our beloved Washington," but it is due 
to them, to ourselves, and to the truth which he so much 
loved, and which was a, distinguishing virtue of his life, 
that every thing pertaining to his memory should be pre- 
served in all its integrity; and that this claim is founded in 
error is clearly demonstrated by Brother Charles W. Moore, 
the R. W. Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Massa- 
chusetts, in the number of his Free Mason's Monthly Mag- 
azine for July of the present year. He says, "In July, 1848, 
we had an opportunity afforded us, of making a personal 
examination of the early record book of Fredericksburg 
Lodge, No. 4, under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of 
Virginia. It is called the " Ledger," and is not less venera- 
ble in its appearance than for its age. From it we copied 
with our own hand the following interesting, and in view of 
the question we are considering, important and decisive 
items." Here follows an extract from the record book of what 
relates to Washington. But since the foregoing was writ- 
ten I have received a communication from that Lodge, com- 
mencing thus : 

" Dear Brother — On the 4th day of November, 1752, George Washington 
was initiated into the mysteries of Masonry in Fredericksburg Lodge, No. 4. 
The 4th day of November next will be the centennial anniversary of that event." 

To this communication, which is official, is appended the 

following : 

" Note — Extract from the record of Fredericksburg Lodge, No. 4: 

'" .5752 — Nov. 4th — George Washington, (Present as Entered Apprentice.) 

" Nov. 6th — Received of Mr. George Washington, for his entrance money, 

£2 3s. 

" 5753 — March 3d — George Washington passed Fellow Craft. 

" August 4tli — Transactions of the evening are George W'ashington raised 

Master Mason. 

" A copy— Teste, ROBT. W, HART, Secretary." 



ADDRESS. 



23 



I have preferred this document to that of Brother Moore 
because it is official, and because in Brother Moore's extract 
there is a slight but unimportant inaccuracy, ^vhich occur- 
red, doubtless, from the haste oi" copying. 

The archives of Fredericksburg Lodge, No. 4, still holds 
as a precious treasure, the Bible used at the initiation of 
Washington. "We saw it," says Brother Moore, "in 1848, 
and are happy to add, that it was then in a good state of 
preservation. It is a small quarto volume, beautifully 
printed on minion type. It bears on its title page the im- 
print 16G8. Printed at Cambridge, by John Field, j)rinter 
to the University." 

This claim is doubtless made by our British brethren in 
good faith ; there is every reason to believe that the name 
of Washington is in some way connected with the records 
of Military Lodge, No. 227. But there is most certainly a 
mistake as to his having been initiated in that Lodge. — 
Brother B. B. French, Grand Master of the Gh-and Lodge of 
the District of Columbia, and others whose veracity cannot 
be doubted, bear similar testimony in regard to the records 
of Fredericksburg Lodge, No. 4, as Brother Moore, and 
those records are still in existence to speak for themselves; 
indeed Brother Robert J. Morrison, W. Master of that Lodge, 
visited the city of Boston last August, with a view to soli- 
cit aid from the Lodges there, to build a Masonic Monu- 
ment to the memory of Washington at Fredericksburg in 
Virginia, which the Lodge there has determined to erect, 
and had with him the original record booh of his Lodge, in 
which the name of General Washington is recorded among 
the initiates, and also the identical Bible that was used on 
the occasion of Washington's initiation. And with Brother 
Moore, I entertain no doubt that our English brethren will 
receive this record as not only the highest evidence of which 
the case admits, but as entirely conclusive in regard to the 
Lodge in which General Washington first saw the light of 
Masonry; and that knowing the truth, they will be ready 



24 ADDRESS. 



and willing, nay happy, to "render unto Ca?sar the things 
that are Csesar's." 

The probability is (and I entertain no doubt) that he ap- 
plied Jo and received from Military Lodge, No. 227, further 
light in Masonry. It is well known that some of the Eng- 
lish Army Lodges, in addition to the three symbolic degrees, 
conferred the degree of Mark Master as a side degree ; in- 
deed some of the Lodges in the United States did so, many 
years ago. Your speaker took that degree thus in Indiana, 
before a Grand Lodge or Royal Arch Chapter was estab- 
lished in that State ; and we have the authority of the pre- 
sent Provincial Grand Master of Nova Scotia for saj'ing, 
that this degree has been conferred in that Province, and in 
Canada, for upwards of a century, under a Master's War- 
rant ; "to which Lodge," he adds, "and not to a Royal Arch 
Chapter, I am of opinion the degree of Mark Master prop- 
erly belongs," It is not, therefore, travelling beyond the 
limits of probability to assume that Lodge No. 227, follow- 
ing the practice of other Military Lodges of that day, and 
of the Lodges in Canada and Nova Scotia, conferred the 
Mark Degree — that General Washington took it there, and 
so was in truth obligated upon " the volume of the sacred 
Law" which is now held in such high regard and venera- 
tion by our English brethren. This viev/ of the subject, 
(although not given <as authoritative) seems to derive strong 
support from the following fact, especially as the records 
of no American Lodge contains any evidence of its having 
conferred this degree upon our Brother Washington. At 
the late session of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, the 
Hon. Myron Lawrence of the State Senate, and a Past Dis- 
trict Deputy Grand Master, was introduced to the Grand 
Lodge by the M. W. Grand Master, when he exhibited a 
jewel which he said had just been handed to him by Col. 
Flores, .Junior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of Peru, 
and had been worn by Gen. Washington, as the presiding 
officer of a Lodge in the army of the revolution. The his- 
tory of the jewel, as the Hon. Brother gave it, on the au- 



ADDRESS. 25 



thority of Brother Plores (then present) is briefly as follows : 
It originally belonged to Bro. Bystrzanowfski, a Polish sol- 
dier, who came over to this couritry about the time that 
Kosciusco arrived here, and immediately entered and ser- 
ved in the American army under Gen. Washington. Being 
a Mason, he was associated with Washington in one of the 
army Lodges, having authority to confer the Mark Degree, 
and over which Washington presided for a time as Master. 
This jewel being the only one in possession of the brethren 
appropriate to a Mark Lodge, was loaned to Gen. Wash- 
ington by Br. Bystrzanowfski, and was worn by him at the 
regular meetings of the Lodge. On the disbanding of the 
army, Washington returned it to its owner, with a compli- 
mentary letter. At his death, Br. Bystrzanowfski bequeath- 
ed it to his children, through Avhom it was transmitted to 
one of his grand sons, then also present in the Grand Lodge. 
And here it may not be improper for me to relate another 
anecdote, alike honorable to the character of Washington 
as a man and a mason. 

The masonic chest of the distinguished 46th (Irish) Regi- 
ment, by the chance of war, fell intothehandsof the Amer- 
icans ; the circumstance being reported to Gen. Washing- 
ton, he embraced the opportunity to testify his estimation 
of Masonry in the most marked and gratifying manner, by 
directing that a guard of honor, under the command of a 
distinguished officer, should take charge of the chest, with 
many articles of value belonging to the 46th, and return 
them to that regiment. 

'' The surprise and the feelings of both officers and men, may be imagined, 
when they perceived tlie flag of truce which announced the elegant compliment 
of their noble opponent, but still more noble brother." 

Temperance, fortitude, justice and prudence, the four car- 
dinal virtues of masonry, all shine out conspicuously in the 
character of this beloved brother. Truth, the brightest star 
in the constellation of masonic virtues, was his beacon light; 
and charity, that " splendid branch of masonic science, 
which is the distinguishing characteristic of the Deity," 
4 



26 ADDRESS. 



seemed an inbred principle of his, nature. Instances of his 
unostentatious exercise of that lovely virtue, might be cited 
in sufficient numbers to fill a volume. And in piety and 
trust in God, he has set us an example that we should all 
do well to follow. The faith of Moses in his God was nev- 
er known to waver, from the time when he received his 
incommunicable name at the " burning hush,''^ on Horeb's 
sacred Mount. So, that of Washington never seemed to 
waver, after the time when the Almighty consecrated and 
set him apart, as His instrument, to redeem this country 
from the thraldom of foreign domination, and lead her free 
born sons to victory and to glory. 

Col. B. Temple, who w^as one of his aids in the French 
and Indian war, often stated, that he had frequently known 
Washington on the Sabbath day, to read the Scriptures to, 
and pray with his regiment, in the absence of his Chaplain. 
And also that on sudden and unexpected visits to his mar- 
quee, he had more than once found him " on his knees at 
his devotions ;" and think you that on such solemn occa- 
sions he did not remember his brethren of the " 7nystic tie?" 
What an example for us, my brethren ! 

When, in 1774, the House of Burgesses, in Virginia, ap- 
pointed a day of fasting and prayer, in sympathy with the 
people of Boston, whose port had been closed by an act of 
Parliament, we find in his />riya^e diary this: "1 went to 
church and fasted all day." 

When told that the British troops at Lexington, on the 
memorable 19th of April, 1775, had fired on and killed sev- 
eral Americans, he replied: "I grieve for the death of my 
countrymen, but rejoice that the British are still so deter- 
mined to keep God on our side." — Alluding to that noble 
sentiment which he has since so happily expressed, that 
the smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation 
that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which 
Heaven itself has ordained. When called by his coun- 
try, in 1775, to lead her free born sons against the armies 
of Britain, what charming modesty, Avhat noble self-dis- 



ADDRESS. 27 



trust, what pious confidence in that Great Being, "who 
rules in the armies of Heaven and amongst the inhab- 
itants of the earth," was evinced by him. " My diffi- 
dence in my own abilities," he humbly stated, "was super- 
seded by a confidence in the rectitude of our cause, and the 
patronage of Heaven." And after the result had proved 
that his "faith was well founded," he said : 

"When I contemplate the interposition of Providence, as it u-as visibly mani- 
fested in guiding us through the revolution, in preparing us for a General Gov- 
ei'nment, and in conciliating the good will of the people of America toward one 
another after its adoption, I find myself oppressed and almost overwhelmed with 
a sense of the divine munificence. I feel that nothing is due to my personal 
agency in all these complicated and wonderful events, except what can simply 
be attributed to the exertions of an honest /.eal for the good of my country." 

Headley, the eloquent biographer, says : 

'' In moral elevation no warrior of ancient or modern times approaches him. 
Given to no excesses himself, he sternly rebuked them in others. The princi- 
ples of religion were deeply engrafted in his heart, and as there was no stain on 
liis blade, he could go from the fierce fought field to the sacramental table. That 
brow which would have awed a Roman Senate in its proudest days, bent in the 
dust before his Maker. In the darkest night of adversity, he leaned in solemn 
faith on //im who is "mightier than the mightiest." As I see him moving 
through the wretched hovels of " Valley Forge," his heart wrung at the destitu, 
tion and suffering that meets his eye at every step, slowly making his way to the 
silent forest, and there kneeling in prayer in behalfof his bleeding country — that 
voice which was never known to falter in the wildest of the conflict, choked with 
emotion — I seem to behold one on whom God has laid the consecrating hand ; 
and all doubts and fears of ultimate success vanish hke morning mist before the 
up risen sun. Washington, standing amid his band of patriot Generals, is to 
me the sublimest spectacle the history of the world furnishes. In wading through 
the long midnight that enveloped our prospects, one finds something more to 
record than the characteristic deeds of brave, ambitious men, or the triumph of 
disciplined armies ; there is the enthusiastic love of liberty, unconquerable reso- 
lution — the firm reliance on Heaven — together with all that is great and heroic 
in action." 

What Mason does not know that it is inculcated as a sa- 
cred duty in the first lessons of our order, to "put our trust 
in God — to implore his aid in all our laudable undertakings 
— and to esteem Him as the Chief Good ?" 

Washington, both by precept and example, inculcated 
these great Masonic duties. 



28 ADDRESS. 



In his first inaugural address, as President of the United 
States, he said : 

'' It would be peculiarly improper to omit in this, my first official act, my fer- 
vent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the Universe, who 
presides in the councils of nations, and whose Providential aids can supply every 
human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness 
of the people of the United States, a government instituted by themselves for 
these essential purposes, and may enable every instrument employed in its ad- 
ministration, to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge. In 
tendering this homage to the great Author of every public and private good, I 
assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less tlian my own, nor those 
of my fellow citizens less than either. No people can be bound to acknowledge 
and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men, more than the 
people of the United States. Every step which they have advanced to the char- 
acter of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token 
of Providential agency; and in the important revolution just accomplished — in 
the system of their limited governments — the tranquil deliberation and voluntary 
consent of so many distinct communities, from which the event has resulted, can- 
not be compared with the means by which most governments have been estab- 
lished, without some return of pious gratitude, along with an humble anticipa- 
tion of the future blessings, which the past seem to presage. These reflections, 
arising out of the present crisis, have forced themselves too strongly on my mind 
to be suppressed. You will join with me, I trust, in thinking that there is none 
under the influence of which a new and free government can more auspiciously 
commence." 

Such were the sentiments, sucli the feelings of this Sage 
— this noble Patriot — this Christian Statesman, whom we 
are entitled to call our Brother, when he w^as about to en- 
ter upon the discharge of the duties of an office, as yet whol- 
ly untried : and upon the proper or injudicious manage- 
ment of which was to depend the perpetuity or speedy an- 
nihilation of a Constitution of Government that had cost 
millions of revenue and thousands of lives, and besides, in- 
volved the happiness of unborn millions of our race. — 
Washington had surveyed the broad field of responsibility. 
He came to the high and sacred office with great reluc- 
tance, but in humble reliance upon that Divine arm which 
had been his stay and support in the dark and stormy days 
of the Revolution. Having put his hand to the plough, he 
was not the man to look back. Having passed the Rubi- 
con, his march was onward. Immediately following the 



ADDRESS. 



29 



delivery of the above address, lie, with the members of both 
Houses, attended divine service in St. Paul's Chapel. Thus 
did Washington, and thus did the National Assembly, com- 
mence the Government of our Country, by a devout recog- 
nition of its dependance upon Divine Providence for suc- 
cess. 

Happy for the Country would it be, if the same spirit of 
piety, and the same acknowledgments to the Divine Author 
of all good had descended to after years. 

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to the pros- 
perity of a Nation, said Washington, Religion is the indis- 
pensable support. In this constant disposition to look for 
National happiness only in National morals, flowing from 
the sublime affections and blessed hopes of religion, 
Washington agreed with those great legislators of antiqui- 
ty, Moses, Lycurgus and Numa. " I ask not gold for Spar- 
tans," said Lycurgus, " Virtue is better than Gold." The 
result shewed his wisdom, The Spartans were invincible 
so long as they remained virtuous, even five hundred years. 

" 1 ask not wealth for Israel," cried Moses : "but, oh, that 
they were wise ! That they did but fear God and keep his 
commandments ; then the Lord himself would be their sun 
and shield." The event proved Moses to be a true prophet. 

Numa's whole time (the historian tells us) was spent in 
inspiring his subjects with a love of piety and veneration 
for the gods. Bouvier inhis Institutes of American Law, says : 

" Peace and order in society would not be guaranteed by the principles of hu- 
man legislation, if those principles were not protected by the salutary influence 
of true religion, and human laws would be insufficient to regulate the conduct of 
man, if their action was not supported, directed and supplied by religion.'' 

" God alone is powerful ! — Thanks be to our gracious God, 
Father of Heaven and of earth, and of all things that in 
them are, that he has vouchsafed to give power unto men." 

So commences one of the Ancient Constitutions of Free 
Masonry. Such is the spirit of our venerable and beloved 
Order. A spirit that always pervaded the bosom of Him, 
whose initiation into this Order we this day commemorate. 



30 ADDRESS. 



Sir Thomas Brown, says : 

'' ]3e llioii siibstaiitiall}' great in thyself, and greater than thou appcarest unto 
olliers, and let tlie world be deceived in thee, as it is in tlie liglit of Heaven." 

Such was the greatness of Washington. Great as he ap- 
peared to others, he was still immeasurably greater in him- 
self! 

"Oh, WashiiNgton I Thrice glorious name, 

What due rewards can man decree ? 

Empires wei'e far below thy aim, 

And sceptres had no eliaims for thee ; 

Duty alone had thy regard, 

In her, thou sought'st thy great reward." 

Every where, throughout his country, which he loved so 
well, public honors were paid to him during his life, and 
after his death they were accorded to him, not only there, 
but in foreign lands. Yet he needed none of them to add 
to the celebrity of his name, or the glory of his achievments. 
Wherever the story of his greatness and of his patriotic ser- 
vices have travelled, they have elicited the admiration and 
homage of mankind. Indeed, amongst civilized people of 
all countries, his name has become a household Avord, and 
is identified with the wise and the patriotic. By the aged 
warriors of our Western Tribes, now indeed few and far 
between, he is still remembered as " our Father." 

The Marquis De Chastellux, who visited him in his camp, 
tells us " that he was astonished and delighted to see the 
great American living among his officers and men as a 
"Father" among his children, who at once revered and loved 
him with filial tenderness." Brissott, another famous French 
t)-aveller, assures us " that throughout the Continent, every 
body spoke of Washington as a " Father," and by common 
consent, there is applied to him the dearest and best of appel- 
lations : " The Father of his Country." His name is fami- 
liar to the wandering Arab; and his fame has penetrated 
the mountain fastnesses of the roving Tartar. And in all 
future time — at least while the American Republic has a 
name and a place on Earth, or while the record of her Rev- 
olution and the establishment of her Government shalllast. 



A D D R E S 



31 



the name of Washington will be remembered with grati- 
tude and joy. " His countr}* is his monmnent — and her his- 
tory is his epitaph." 

A writer in the Edinburgh Review, thus expresses him- 
self in regard to the American Fabius : 

" If profound sagacity, unshaken steadiness of purpose, tbc entire subjugation 
of all tlie passions which carry havoc through ordinary minds, and often times 
lay waste the fairest prospects of greatness ; nay the discipline of those feelings 
that are wont to lull or seduce genius and to mar and to cloud over the aspect of 
virtue herself, joined with, or rather leading to the most absolute self-denial — the 
most habitual and exclusive devotion to principle, — if these things can constitute 
a great character, without either apprehension or resources of information or eir- 
cumventive powers, or any brilliant quality that might dazzle the vulgar, then 
Washington was the greatest man that ever lived in this W^orld — uninspired by 
Divine wisdom and unassisted by supernatural virtue." 

As a ruler of mankind, says William Smith, Professor of 
Modern History in the English University of Cambridge, he 
may be proposed as a model. Deeply impressed with the 
original rights of human nature, he never forgot that the end 
and aim of all just government, was the happiness of the 
people ; and he never exercised authority till he had first ta- 
ken care to put himself clearly in the right. His candor — his 
patience — his love of justice, were unexampled, and this, 
though naturally he wasnot patient ; much otherwise, high- 
ly irritable. 

Said Mr, Fox, in the British Parliament, in a speech de- 
livered during Washington's second Presidential term : 

" Illustrious man — deriving less honor from the splendor of his situation, than 
the dignity of his mind, before whom all borrowed greatness sinks into insigni- 
ficance ; and all the potentates of Europe (except the members of our own Royal 
Family) become contemptible." 

'' Of all great men," such is the declaration of Mr. Guizot, one of the Minis- 
ters of the late King of the French, " of all great men, Washington was the 
most virtuous and the most fortunate. In this world, God has no higher favor 
to bestow." 

The civil character of this great man has rarely, perhaps 
never, been more truthfully and comprehensively written, 
than in the following extract from Alison's History of Eu- 
rope : 



32 ADDRESS. 

'' Modern history has not so spotless a character to commemorate. Invincible 
in resolution, firm in conduct, incorruptible in integrity, he brought to the helm 
of a victorious republic, the simplicity and innocence of rural life. He was for- 
ced into greatness by circumstances, rather than led into it by inclination ; and 
prevailed over his enemies, rather by the inward wisdom of his designs, and the 
perseverance of his character, than any extraordinary genius for the art of war. 
A soldier from necessity and patriotism, rather than disposition, he was the first 
to recommend a return to paeitie counsels when the independence of his country 
was secured, and bequeathed to his countrymen an address, on leaving their gov- 
ernment, to wiiich there is no composition of uninspired wisdom that can bear a 
comparison. He was modest, without diffidence — sensible to the voice of fame, 
without vanity — independent and dignified, without either asperity or pride. He 
was a friend to liberty, but not to licentiousness — not to the dreams of enthusi- 
asts, but to those practical ideas which America had inherited from her English 
descent, and which were opposed to nothing so much as to the extravagant love 
of power in the French democracy. Accordingly, after having signalized his 
life by a successful resistance to English oppression, he closed it by the warmest 
advice to cultivate the friendship of Great Britain ; and by a casting vote, shortly 
before his resignation, ratified a treaty of friendly and commercial intercourse be- 
tween the mother country and her emancipated offspring. He was a Cromwell, 
without his ambition — a Sylla, witliout his crimes — and after having raised his 
country by his exertions, to the rank of an independent State, he closed his ca- 
reer by a voluntary relinquishment of the power which a grateful people had be- 
stowed." 

Lord Brougham, in his masterly essay on public charac- 
ters, says of Washington : 

" This is the consummate glory of the great American — a triumphant warrior, 
where the most sanguine had a right to despair — a successful ruler, in all the 
difficulties of a course wholly untried — but a warrior whose sword only left its 
sheath when the first law of our nature commanded it to be drawn — and a ruler 
who, having tasted of supreme power, graciously and unostentatiously desired 
that Jlie cup might pass from him, nor would hesutrer more to wet his lips, than 
the most solemn and sacred duty and his God required. It will be the duty of 
the historian and the sage, in all ages, to omit no occasion of commemorating 
this illustrious man, and until time shall be no more, will a test of the progress 
which our race has made in wisdom and virtue, be derived from the veneration 
paid to the immortal name of Washington." 

John Marshal, (since Chief Justice of the Supreme Court 
of the United States,) another of the great and good men 
of that day, himself, too, a Free Mason, announcing the 
death of our illustrious Brother, in the House of Represen- 
tatives, said : 

" Our Washington is no more ! The hero, the patriot, and the sage of ximer- 
ica, the man on whom, in times of danger, every eye was turned and all hopes 



ADDRESS. 33 



wera placed, lives now only in his own great actions, and in the hearts of an af- 
fectionate and afflicted people. If, sir, it had even not been usual, openly to tes- 
tify respect for the memory of those whom Heaven has selected as its instru- 
ments for dispensing good to man, yet such has been the uncommon worth, and 
such the extraordinary incidents which have marked the life of him whose loss 
wo all deplore, the whole American nation, impelled by the same feelings, would 
call with one voice, for a public manifestation of that sorrow which is so deep and 
universal. More than any other individual, and as much as to one individual was 
possible, has he contributed to found this our wide spreading empire, and to give 
to the western world independence and freedom. Having effected the great 
object for which he was placed at the head of our armies, we have seen him con- 
vert the sword into the ploughshare, and sink the soldier in the citizen. How- 
ever the public confidence may change, and the public affections fluctuate with 
respect to others, with respect to him they have, in war and in peace, in public 
and in private life, been as steady as his own firm mind, and as constant as his 
own exalted virtues. Let us, then, Mr. Speaker, pay the last tribute of respect 
and affection to our departed friend. Let the '' Grand Council" of the nation 
display those sentiments which the nation feels." 

Mr. Adams, (then President of the United States,) con- 
cluded his letter to the Senate, thus : 

" His example is now complete, and it will teach wisdom and virtue to magis- 
trates, citizens and men, not only in the present age, but to all future generations, 
as long as history shall be read." 

A question of importance being on the carpet that day, 
the House, as usual, was much interested ; but, soon as it 
was announced — " General Washington is dead !" — an in- 
stant stop was put to all business — the tongue of the orator 
was struck dumb — and a midnight silence ensued. Both 
Houses adjourned to attend his fimeral obsequies. His re- 
mains were consigned to the tomb with solemn funei;ia,l 
pomp — his Masonic brethren closing the ceremonies at that, 
his last resting place. 

On the next day, it was resolved by the House of Repre- 
sentatives, that the House should wait on the President of 
the United States, to express their condolence at the mourn- 
ful event — that the Speaker's chair should be covered with 
black, and that the members and all the officers of the 
House, should appear in deep mourning during the session. 

Thus was manifested the warmest testimonials of the 
affections of a grateful and afflicted people, to the memory 
5 



34 ADDRESS. 



of their truly lamented chief, who so justly merited the es- 
teem of his country, his brethren, and his friends. Oh ! 

"It was not the tear at that moment shed, 

When the cold turf had just been laid o'er him, 

That can tell how beloved the friend that's fled, 

Or how deep in our hearts we deplore him. 

'Tis the tear through many a long day wept, 

Through a life by his loss all shaded; 

'Tis the sad remembrance fondly kept, 

When all lighter griefs have faded. 

Oh ! thus shall we mourn, and his memory's light, 

While it shines through our hearts, will improve them ; 

For worth shall look fairer, and truth more bright. 

When we think how he lived but to love them." 

When Napoleon heard that he was no more, he said : 

" The great light of the age has gone out. Washington is dead ! This great 
man fought against tyranny — he established the liberty of his country. His 
memory must always be dear to the French people, as well as to all the free in 
both woi'lds." 

And even the young republic of France, then wading in 
rivers of blood, put on crape, and imposing ceremonies were 
decreed in honor of our departed hero, by the (then) young 
ruler of "the great nation.'''' 

" I," says the venerable Richard Rush, our late Minister 
to France, "heard, as did others, the master spirit of the 
provisional government, Lamartine, say — the man who 
saved France from torrents of blood by the self-possession, 
courage, and eloquence of a minute — it was in these ter- 
rible times, I heard him despairingly say : " The want of 
the age is a European Washington." 

What a mighty name his ! What a tower of strength ! 
How fitted to cover nations, as with an aegis of wisdom, and 
safety, and glory ; and if we may believe with Young, that 
"Friends departed, are Angels sent from Heaven, on er- 
rands full of love," we can well imagine with what exstatic 
joy he would leave the bright worlds above, and descend 
to watch over the destinies of this rising empire, and per- 
form towards it those offices of love andmercywhichmight 
tend to promote its endless perpetuity. Should such a per- 



ADDRESS. 35 



petuity be permitted to prevail, (which may Heaven in 
mercy grant,) to what a glorious result may it lead! With 
the same ratio of increase as has taken place since the 
American Revolution, the population of the United States, 
when this centennial anniversary shall again occur, will 
be about four hundred millions. The relative proportion, 
according as it now exists, would give to our Order 
upwards of two millions. And who can calculate the 
moral effect of four hundred millions of free, enterprising, 
enlightened, and patriotic people, upon the destinies of the 
world ? With the same firm reliance upon the Divine arm 
for support, as was evinced by the Fathers of that Revolu- 
tion, they would be invincible, and their moral force irre- 
sistible. Brethren, in the Providence of God, our country 
has a mission to fulfil, and Free Masonry will be required 
to aid in accomplishing its destiny, of making the principles 
of toleration and free government as catholic and univer- 
sal, as the principles we profess, and as our books teach* 
and our lectures inculcate. The memory and the sacred 
name of Washington demand it. 

The eccentric, but talented English poet. Lord Byron, 
has also added his testimony to the excellency, greatness, 
and glory of Him whom we delight to honor — a tribute of 
praise w^hich it is said he has no where in any of his wri- 
tings, paid to a British hero, not even to Lord Wellington 
himself. But of this noble American he thus wrote: 

" Where shall the weary eye repose, 
When gazing on the great, 
Where neither guilty glory glows, 
Nor despicable state ? 
Yes — one — the first — the last— the best, 
The Cineinnatus of the W'est, 
Whom envy, dared not hate, 
Bequeathed the name of Washington, 
To make men blush there was but one ! 

Such, my brethren, was Washington, whose virtues we 
are called upon to keep in perpetual remembrance — whose 
example we are solemnly enjoined to imitate — whose name 



36 ADDRESS. 

is revered throughout the world, and whose memory is here 

" In this bright land of the West, 
This fairer land beyond the sea, 
Where floats the banner of the free," 

embalmed in the hearts of his countrymen — and esjyecially 
in the hearts of his hretliren of the mystic tie. 

Alexander, having climbed to the dizzy heights of ambi- 
tion, and with his temples bound with chaplels dipped in 
the blood of countless millions, looked down upon a con- 
quered world, and wept that there was not another world 
to conquer — set a city on fire, and died in a disgraceful scene 
of debauch. 

Hannibal, after having, to the astonishment and conster- 
nation of Rome, passed the Alps, put to flight the armies of 
this mistress of the world, stripped three bushels of gold 
rings from the fingersof her slaughtered Knights, and made 
her very foundations tremble, returned to his country to be 
defamed and driven into exile, and to die at last of poison 
administered by his own hand, un lamented and unwept, in 
a foreign clime. 

Caesar, after having taken eight hundred cities, and dyed 
his garments in the blood of his fellow men — after having 
destroyed the only rival he had on Earth, was assassinated 
by those whom he considered his best and dearest friends, 
and at the very point where he had gained his highest am- 
bition. 

Napoleon, after having deluged Europe with tears and 
blood, clothed her with sack-cloth, and filled the world with 
the terror of his name, closed his days in lonely banishment 
in a barren Isle, and 

" Left that name at which the world grew pale. 
To point a moral or adorn a tale." 

Alas ! How vain is the greatness of this World unaccom- 
panied by that virtue which the religion of the Bible in- 
spires. How painful is the gift of genius if it bo abused ! 
Who that is now living would not rather die the death of 
the humble righteous man than that of Alexander, Hanni- 
bal, Caesar or Napoleon ? 



ADDRESS. 37 



Washington died the calm, the quiet, the peaceful death 
of the Christian. Brethren and Friends : let us all endeav- 
or, by the grace of God, to live the life of the righteous that 
our last end may be like his. Let us one and all, in great 
humility, and in the fear and love of our Great Grand Mas- 
ter, emulate the glorious, the virtuous, the pious example 
of our worthy, beloved and departed Brother : 

"Our Washington — the wise — the great" — 

The Star of whose glory shall never, never set, and whose 
deathless fame is thus beautifully commemorated by an- 
other English Poet : 

" There's a Star in the West that shall never go down 

Till the records of valor deca}' ; 
We must worship that Star, though it be not our own, 

For Liberty bursts in its ray. 

Shall the name of Washington ever be heard 

By a Freeman, and thill not his breast ? 
Is there one out of bondage tliat hails not the word, 

As the Bethlehem Star of the West ?" 






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